Boston Center for the Arts hosts Run of the Mills, a series of intermittent, short duration exhibitions, performances and events of all stripes in which the BCA’s Mills Gallery is given over to our creative colleagues to explore art that defies categorization.

Inheritance is defined by what one receives—be it a “gift,” a “burden” or both—depending on the context. Inheritance is commonly used to refer to monetary or physical property that is passed from one generation to the next, as well as the physical attributes and genetic qualities received from one’s parents.

The Weight of Inheritance brings together four artists to explore, through performance art, the concept of inheritance as it relates to gender, class, race, ethnicity, and how these classifications fit within cultural and economic structures (e.g., art history, history, capitalism, politics). With an emphasis on process, guest artists will collectively and individually consider how the body, movement and objects carry the weight of inheritance. The centrality of the body in performance art makes it a key form through which to critically engage the idea of inheritance.

Each artist’s diverse practice and formative perspectives will enhance the address of “inheritance” and its “weight.”

The 2017–2018 season of Run of the Mills has ended. Sign up for our email list to be one of the first to learn about the 2018–2019 season!

Pack your bags for a cosmic journey as eight artists imagine a healing and visionary site for contemplating earth’s challenges—particularly climate change—in this immersive multi-disciplinary experience. Motivated by the poetry of possibility, some of these artists explore the profundity and darkness of this theme, while others have a more whimsical touch. Some artists focus on the concept of a journey away from earth, while others emphasize what is left here or what may await us elsewhere.

Chart your own course to the stars! In this participatory experience, you will have the opportunity to create an artist book to log your journey, explore the historical impact of plantation slavery on today’s intertwined climate and migrant crises, contemplate vast cosmic space through durational performance evoking the disappearance of Voyagers 1 and 2, hear original music based on the poetry of Emily Dickinson, interact with a human-alien dating coordinator, pose questions about interstellar travel, and see Interstellar Sanctuary illuminated with the lights of the firmament.

Rainbow Collapse | January 19, 2018

Run of the Mills | Rainbow Collapse

An evening of durational performance, participatory installation and reception with artists Anya Smolnikova and Jared Williams

Step into a brave new world in Rainbow Collapse, where artists smolnikova + williams imagine how a dystopian utopia might grow from the ashes of a complete societal and environmental collapse. Both darkly foreboding and hopeful at the same time, this self-determined experience features a birch forest, a pyramid of television sets, and an opportunity to read from the book of senses.

Laboratory of Longings: the Experiments of Ani LiuRun of the Mills

Performance and ReceptionFriday, October 6, 2017 | 7–9 pm Mills Gallery at the BCA South End Campus

Gallery HoursSaturday, October 7, 2017 | noon–8 pmMills Gallery at the BCA South End Campus

Artist TalksSaturday, October 7, 2017 2 pm | 4 pm | 6 pm

Discover the unexpected in this Run of the Mills with Ani Liu, an artist working at intersection of science and art who uses playful experimentation, intuition and speculative biology to explore being fully human in a technologically-mediated world. Featuring a selection of projects curated by Ethan Vogt and drawn from Liu's time at the MIT Media Lab, you will circulate through interactive and performative stations while enjoying complimentary refreshments at this immersive event that fuses scientific experimentation with sensory expression.

Please be aware this installation includes nudity.

In Kind Sponsors for Run of the Mills | Laboratory of Longings: The Experiments of Ani Liu